A ray of sunlight penetrated the curtains and shone on the little witch's malt-colored face.
The long eyelashes beat twice under the sunlight, and she slowly opened her eyes.
The bed was empty. The little witch propped herself up and looked around her in a daze.
"winter?"
The clear voice echoed in the room. The little witch looked at the empty bed, subconsciously lifted the quilt, and cast nervous and curious eyes inside.
At this time, the honest Winnie the Pooh also looked at the little witch from under the quilt.
Their eyes met, with disappointment written all over the little witch's face.
She coveted her boyfriend's body, but he didn't touch her last night.
There was a thermos cup on the bedside table with steaming milk in it.
The little witch stepped out of bed, stepped on the carpet with her delicate and white feet, and reached out to take the note under the thermos cup in her hand.
"My dear, forgive me for leaving without saying goodbye."
"It's so tempting when my sweet little witch sleeps."
"I'm afraid that I can't control it and never leave."
"But my team needs me, my coach needs me, and my fans need me. I still have a lot of unfulfilled responsibilities, and I can't ignore the burden on my shoulders."
"So sorry, I have to go back right now."
"Actually, I'm also looking forward to your magic show. You know, my wand was already very thirsty last night!"
"After the season is over, I will definitely come back to you and let you do whatever you want."
"I'll ask you to be merciful then."
"You know, it...is no match for your hands."
Writing this, Wang Xiaodong used a few simple strokes to outline what a normal boy would experience every morning.
Looking at the exaggerated flagpole on the note that towered into the sky, the little witch laughed so much that she choked out the milk in her mouth.
"Hahaha...cough cough cough~~~hic~~winter..." The little witch gestured with her hands and found that she couldn't describe the majesty of the flagpole with one hand. She quickly pulled out some toilet paper and moved the corner of her mouth. of milk and the drool that was accidentally shed just now.
"Winter, you are my hero and Southampton's hero!"
...
There was a solemn atmosphere at Staplewood Training Base.
Wang Xiaodong stood on the sidelines, his hair standing on end, looking at Keegan who was discussing tactics with Jack not far in front of him.
Farke!
Aren't you sick?
Aren't you hospitalized with a high fever?
So what is this I see?
ghost?
Or a robot?
"Dong? Are you back?"
"Didn't you say you would take a few more days off before coming back?"
Jack raised his head and saw Wang Xiaodong glaring not far away, running over with excitement on his face.
Hearing Wang Xiaodong's name, Keegan also raised his head and glanced, but he quickly turned his head away and focused on other things.
"Hmph! I didn't want to come back so early!" Wang Xiaodong said angrily, "But someone called me and lied to me!"
"What? Who? What lie? What did you lie to?" Jack's mind was filled with questions.
Wang Xiaodong ignored Czech's series of questions, but raised his eyebrows and pointed to Keegan not far away with his chin.
"Didn't you say that the old man is hospitalized? Haha, how ironic! In order to trick me into coming back, they used all kinds of tricks!"
"No, it's not like that, Dong, it's not like that, listen to me!" After understanding why Wang Xiaodong got angry as soon as he came back, Jack quickly shook his head and explained, "Dong, they didn't lie to you!"
"After getting off the bus on the return trip yesterday, Mr. Keegan was already suffering from fever. A few of us rushed him to the nearest hospital and gave him anti-fever injections."
"After the fever subsided, we lay down on the side and fell asleep."
"Who knew Mr. Keegan would wake up at around three in the morning."
"He quietly walked out of the hospital by himself, went home, took a shower, changed clothes, and then appeared on the court as if nothing was wrong."
"We woke up and went crazy looking for him. We only followed him after he returned to the training base."
"We also tried to persuade the coach, but he didn't listen to anything he said."
"He said there are three games left in the league and he will insist on finishing the league no matter what."
"so..."
Jack turned back and pointed at the players who were training hard on the field, "So everyone is training hard too. In the last three games, we must not let anything slip!"
Looking at several teammates with dark circles under their eyes who were still stretching, Wang Xiaodong temporarily suppressed his anger and accepted Jack's explanation.
"Dong, since you are back, let's return to the team for training as soon as possible!"
"The next game is away to Crystal Palace, Mr Keegan and the team need you."
Wang Xiaodong rolled his eyes and said nothing. He came to the team on his own and stretched with the team.
The teammates all glanced at Wang Xiaodong with strange looks, but not even Bell or Dyer came forward to say hello.
This is true when training and also when eating.
The teammates gathered together in twos and threes, and when they saw Wang Xiaodong coming with a dinner plate, they all left quickly.
Lallana wanted to stay and say something to Wang Xiaodong, but Bell snatched him away.
"snort!"
"What's wrong?"
"I can eat alone and be quiet."
After saying that, Wang Xiaodong picked up a chicken leg with chopsticks and stuffed it directly into his mouth.
It was the same in the next few days. Wang Xiaodong knew that he was isolated.
As for the reason for being isolated, he didn't want to think too much about it.
That old man Keegan must have said something behind his back.
But so what?
You say yours.
I do mine.
If you have the guts, don’t ever use me!
Keep leaving me on the bench!
Don’t even let me into the roster!
The worst we can do is break up after the season. You continue to coach your Southampton team, and I'll transfer mine, so that everyone can stay on the same page.
If we meet on the court in the future, no one will be merciful and we will speak on our own merits.
In the past few days, Wang Xiaodong has been venting his frustration on the gym.
Wang Xiaodong didn't mess with almost all the fitness equipment, and even the heaviest barbells creaked and groaned.
The days passed quickly, and Southampton ushered in the third to last league game of the season.
When mentioning the Crystal Palace team, most Chinese fans will think of the name of a Chinese player: General Fan.
In 1998, General Fan and Zhang Huahua went to the Premier League together. They trained at Southampton for ten days for the first time, and went to Tottenham for a second trial, but they were eliminated both times. It was not until August that General Fan and Sun Jihai joined the Crystal Palace in the League One.
In the three and a half seasons played by General Fan, General Fan not only served as the captain of Crystal Palace, but was also considered one of the most successful foreign players in the history of the team.
Unfortunately, Crystal Palace has not succeeded in overtaking the league in the past three years.
It was not until the 2002-03 season that Crystal Palace finally succeeded in reaching the Premier League under the leadership of head coach Dawe.
But the good times did not last long. In the 2004-05 season, Crystal Palace ranked 18th in the Premier League and was relegated to the English Championship together with Southampton.
Come this season, Crystal Palace and Southampton have the same goal, which is to return to the Premier League.
And they did.
The top two teams so far in the standings are Reading and Sheffield United. Second to sixth are Watford, Leeds United, Crystal Palace and Preston respectively, with Southampton ranked seventh.
In terms of points, the bottom four opponents are all likely to be pulled down at the last moment, and Southampton is only 2 points away from sixth-placed Preston.
Therefore, this game against Crystal Palace is extremely critical. Southampton has no choice but to defeat its opponent!
At Selhurst Park, the gossiping reporters couldn't wait to click the shutter on Southampton's bus.
To their surprise, Wang Xiaodong, who was not in the squad for the last game, appeared on the team again this time.
"Wang Xiaodong has returned to the team?"
"He and Keegan reconciled?"
"Will Keegan reuse him?"
“What’s going on with Southampton these days?”
"Can Wang Xiaodong, who has returned to the team, help the team defeat strong opponents?"
Although Kevin Keegan did not put Wang Xiaodong in the starting lineup, the Crystal Palace coach had to be careful. This might be Keegan's trick to lure the enemy.
Think about it, Southampton's most terrifying midfielder is sitting on the bench. If one of them is not arranged well and is used as a secret weapon in the second half and is thrown into the battle at a critical moment, Crystal Palace will not be dismembered by the Saints immediately?
Under Wang Xiaodong's "shock", the home team's coach Mirren has been frightened and used his troops cautiously, not daring to be caught by his opponent in the slightest.
Seeing that their opponents were playing so cautiously and timidly, the Saints, who had come from afar, did not hesitate and launched a fierce attack on the home team's position.
In the 13th minute, Belmadi made a long diagonal pass in the midfield and found Bell at the back of the goal.
Bell's header hit the back post and hit the ball back to the center.
Before Crystal Palace goalkeeper Peter could turn his head following the ball, the ball had already entered the net.
After taking a 1-0 lead, Southampton's morale soared.
Two more goals followed in the remainder of the first half from Dyer and Kendi Jones.
Taking a three-goal lead in the first half and defeating their opponents, the Saints in the stands were so excited that they waved their arms and shouted desperately.
In the second half, the two sides changed places to fight again, with Kevin Keegan keeping an eye on his opponent's pace.
When Mirren changes players, Keegan will make corresponding adjustments to defeat the opponent.
Until the end of the game, this team from south London, like their cross-city rivals, still had not defeated the visitors from the south.
As a result, Crystal Palace dropped directly to sixth in the rankings, while Southampton was only one step away from qualifying for the play-offs.
Fans and reporters temporarily forgot about Wang Xiaodong, who had never appeared in the 90 minutes again. All visitors from the south raised their arms and chanted Keegan's name.
They believe that Keegan is the god of the team and can definitely lead the team to advance.
"Achieving such a score is entirely due to the efforts of the players themselves."
"All of them performed well today and they deserved this result."
"Now all the players on the team are full of hope to enter the top six and get the last promotion spot."
"The players believe in me and I believe in my players."
"This will be another gift I give to the Saints after the League Cup!"
Flashbulbs surrounded Kevin Keegan on the sidelines, forcing the England legend to stand still and say a few more words.
Just outside the crowd, Wang Xiaodong casually put his coat on his shoulders and walked directly into the players' tunnel without raising his head, leaving behind a lonely figure.
"I'm so capable, you'll never use me on the field!"
